MARC will construct at $175,000 elevator at its Rockville,
Maryland, station to permit easier access for passengers to reach the track
level, and for passengers transferring between MARC trains at the Metro
red line. Amtrak's Capitol Limited also stops at this station.

Amtrak to Move Crescent Crew Base to Charlottesville

Amtrak plans to move its crew base for the Crescent from
Lynchburg to Charlottesville later this month.

NS Budgets $144 Million for Locomotive Projects

Norfolk Southern has budgeted $144 million for locomotive
projects this year, including the purchase of new six-axle, high-adhesion
units. Also in the budget is $21 million to eliminate pole lines system-wide
and replace them with electronic track circuits and data radios.

NS Replacing N&W Signals with Safetrans Tri-Color Light
Installations

Norfolk Southern continues to replace N&W style intermediate
signals with Safetrans tri-color light signals on its Bristol line between
Walton and Bristol, and Shenandoah Valley line between Hagerstown and Roanoke.

CSX Reports Quarterly Earnings

CSX Corporation achieved fourth quarter earnings of $253
million, or $1.17 per share. Excluding a non-recurring gain of $51 million
in the corresponding quarter the previous year, the 1996 quarterly earnings
were an all-time record. Meanwhile, for the year, CSX Transportation lowered
its operating ratio (the ratio of operating expense to operating revenue)
from 77.9 to 77 percent.

Union Pacific Approves Capital Spending Plan

Union Pacific has approved a 1997 capital spending plan
of $2.2 billion for the railroad, including more than $500 million to implement
the merger with Southern Pacific, and $615 million for the purchase of
260 new locomotives and the upgrading of existing units.

CSX-Conrail Merger Remains "Right Merger," Companies
Say

[January 17, 1997 ... from a CSXT letter to employees]
. . . Conrail today announced its shareholders have refused to opt-out
of certain provisions of Pennsylvania Business Law, but that its Board
of Directors remains fully and firmly committed to the CSX-Conrail merger,
as does CSX Corporation. The results of the vote will not affect the ultimate
outcome, only delay the ability of Conrail's shareholders to receive the
full consideration that will be provided them by the CSX-Conrail transaction.
In a joint statement released today by CSX and Conrail, John Snow stated,
"The CSX-Conrail merger remains the right merger, of the right companies,
at the right price and in time, it will be approved. There is not now,
nor will there be, a viable alternative to the CSX-Conrail merger."
Conrail is expected to announce a date for another shareholder vote on
the "opt-out" provision next week. Approval at that time will
allow CSX to go forward with the second phase of its tender offer to purchase
another 20.1 percent of Conrail's outstanding shares and, then, for both
companies to seek shareholder approval of the merger. In the meantime,
we are going forward with our joint effort with Conrail to prepare a compelling
application that we continue to expect to file with the Surface Transportation
Board in March. We also will be launching a campaign to earn broad-based
support of the merger from our customers. The success of that effort will
be significantly influenced by the success of our own efforts to provide
safe, high quality service to our customers in the weeks and months ahead.
Doing so should be our first priority and I know I can count on your best
efforts in that regard. /s/ A.R. "Pete Carpenter, CSXT President,
CEO

Viaduct Junction Tower Closes

CSXT's 95-year old Viaduct Junction Tower in Cumberland,
Maryland, has closed. It officially closed at 3PM on January 22, at which
time switch and signal control was assumed by the train dispatcher in Jacksonville,
but operators remained on duty through several additional eight-hour shifts
before all positions were abolished. The tower's closing followed a cutover
period lasting about 12 weeks. Viaduct Junction Tower, with the call letters
"ND," was named for the famous double-track arch viaduct just
behind the building. Its location in the heart of Cumberland at the junction
of the former B&O's Chicago and St. Louis lines respectively with the
main line east to Washington, Baltimore and Philadelphia, made the tower
one of the most visible and noteworthy of all such facilities on the B&O
system. Its closing marks the end of tower presence in Cumberland. In 1928
there were no fewer than seven interlocking towers serving the sprawling
Cumberland complex. They included Patterson Creek, Evitts Creek, Virginia
Lane, Baltimore Street, McKenzie, Mt. Savage Junction, and Viaduct Junction.
By 1958 the number had been reduced to six, with McKenzie having been eliminated
and Mexico replacing Evitts Creek. Two towers remained as of one year ago,
with Mexico closing in July. Interestingly, Mexico was a relatively modern
tower when it closed - state of the art from the late 1950's - whereas
Viaduct Junction retained its vintage armstrong lever assembly with pipelines
until its cutover.

Built in 1902, Viaduct Junction was installed by B&O
forces with a Saxby and Farmer 52-lever interlocking machine, 49 levers
in use, at a cost of $1,136.19, total cost for the project of $9,584.05.
The tower was once jointly owned by the B&O and the Cumberland &
Pennsylvania, with C&P tracks originally crossing the B&O behind
the tower. As of June 30, 1918, ownership in the facility was 71.31% B&O,
and 28.69% C&P. Repairs to the interlocking would be paid for by both
carriers, divided among the two using the stated percentages, but if repairs
affected one road and not the other, such repairs would be fully borne
by the affected road. Over the years the C&P's physical plant was trimmed
removing any unnecessary trackage or signals, and this affected the ownership
percentages. In 1951, the 52-lever interlocking machine was replaced with
a panel-type interlocking for control of signals and a 20-lever mechanical
machine for control of switches. The 1996-1997 cutover involved a number
of switch changes in the interlocking itself, the elimination of one of
the two tracks across the viaduct, and the use of C&O-style color-light
signals replacing B&O color-position light signals within the area.

The closing of Viaduct Junction reduces to 11 the number
of electro-mechanical interlockings with armstrong lever assemblies in
service in the United States. This number will be reduced further as forces
are now at work to remote the tower at Hardman, West Virginia, east of
Grafton, on the route of the former B&O line to St. Louis. The tower
at Hyndman, Pennsylvania, also with an armstrong-lever plant, had been
planned for closing this spring, but the latest report is that these plans
are now on hold.